Maia Song Contest 4

The Maia Song Contest 4 was the fourth edition of the Maia Song Contest. The contest was hosted in the KSU Arena in Pojkland, Temekylopia, following Temekylopia's victory in the previous edition. Despite original rumours that the contest will contain three semi-finals, the MBU announced on 6 October that the rumours are false, and the contest will consist of two semi-finals and one grand final as per usual.

Fourty-seven countries participated in the contest, setting a new record for the number of countries taking part. Xhoresä returned to the contest after a one-edition break, meanwhile Puffy Pines, Svu & Swae, Uslye, and Zvorrhybnnia are set to withdraw. Eight other countries will also participate for the first time.

Location
The venue of the fourth Maia Song Contest was announced on 1 October to be the KSU Arena located in Pojkland, Temekylopia. This was the first time the city has hosted the Maia Song Contest

Bidding phase
TSBN and the MBU announced the conditions under which cities and venues could announce their interest in hosting the contest.


 * The host city had to be near a major airport.
 * The venue must be available for at least six weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest
 * The venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 metres (49 ft), insulated for sound and light.
 * The green room must be located as close to the arena as possible (or within it), with a capacity of 300.

Host venue

Format
The five highest-scoring countries, including host Temekylopia, are automatically qualified to the final. The other 43 countries must qualify from one of two semi-finals, in which 10 countries shall qualify from each.

Semi-final allocation draw
The participating countries will be split into six pots based on their overall performance at previous editions of the contest.

Semi Final 1
Björnska and Izola will also vote in this semi-final. A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

A scoreboard can be found here.


 * 1.Xhoresä failed to vote in semi-final 1, which resulted in a 50% vote penalty.

Semi Final 2
Darkwood, Respublika, and Temekylopia will also vote in this semi-final. A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

A scoreboard can be found here.

Grand Final
A playlist can be found here. A recap can be found here.

A scoreboard can be found here.


 * 1.As the hosts of the contest, Temekylopia was randomly allocated to perform 2nd. The other countries were also randomly drawn to perform in either the first or second half of the contest.

Lyrics of Nori entry
Controversy was received when Eden xo was selected to represent the Nori Islands with her song "El Barrio". Many fans took issue with the lyrical content of the entry, with some taking to social media to accuse the singer of "cultural appropriation" and "negative stereotypes". The MBU responded that they found no wrongdoing, much to the bewilderment of fans. It was reported that the Izolan and Papavertellan Head of Delegations were displeased with the lyrics and criticised the entry backstage. The Nori Head of Delegation reportedly referred to the criticisms as "shocking smear campaigns created to prevent Nori qualification to the grand final".

Xhorese jury votes
Following a failure to provide a valid televoting result, Xhoresä's national broadcaster was asked to submit votes from a backup jury instead. The broadcaster did not respond to these requests from the MBU, and was subsequently penalised for half of all points received in the first semi-final, causing them to not qualify. This was not revealed until after the conclusion of the grand final. This was the second time in the history of the Maia Song Contest that XhoBroU had failed to provide a valid result, after Xhorese voting lines malfunctioned in the second edition.

International broadcasts and voting
Please check the list of official rules before submitting a spokesperson.

Voting and spokespersons

 * Paulina Rubio (Amsokian representative in the third edition)
 * Courtney Stodden
 * Marina Joyce
 * Exüran Zuridanai
 * Kim Jisoo and Jennie Kim (Winner of Maia Song Contest 3 as part of BlackPink)
 * Natalia Jiménez (Daléríqan representative in the first edition)
 * Disbitch Whatsernam
 * Sara Bareilles
 * Jon Kortajarena
 * Robbie Williams
 * Maggie Smith
 * Nuša Derenda (Floweki representative in the third edition)
 * Bebe Rexha (Fronezenchyan representative in the third edition)
 * Joanne the Scammer
 * Christer Björkman
 * That Poppy (Izol representative in the third edition)


 * Humberto Tan
 * Lea Rue
 * kVIIIlynn Branchbreaker
 * Beren Saat
 * Sofia Jannok (Klapaucian representative in the third edition)
 * Nanul (Lazanistani representative in the second edition) & Lele Pons
 * Emma Willis
 * Charlotte OC
 * Jeff Tapir
 * Cobie Smulders
 * Whitney Hogg
 * Ashley Benson
 * Rina Ikoma
 * Tamta
 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson
 * Pia Wurtzbach


 * Carol Kirkwood
 * Natalie Horler
 * Çıldıs Tanagaşeva
 * Helena Paparizou (Sueltan representative in the second edition)
 * Tanvir Alam
 * LiSa (Tayō Nohiton representative in the third edition)
 * Basil Gayface
 * Suchitra Pillai
 * Olya Polyakova (Taladosian representative in the second and third editions)
 * Rivington Bisland III
 * Hendrike Brenninkmeyer
 * Rebecca Mader
 * Allie X (Xhorese representative in the third edition)
 * Daniela Ruah
 * Shaniqua Stevic & Kandace Sydney

Other countries
Eligibility for potential participation in the Maia Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active MBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. The MBU will issue an invitation of participation in the contest to all active members.

Active MBU countries

 * - The country originally confirmed participation, but on 3 October retracted their intention to participate stating a lack of funding from the national broadcaster.
 * - The country was pulled from the contest after they confirmed participation but failed to select an entrant before the deadline. It is hoped that the country can return for the next edition.
 * - After a disappointing result in the previous contest TVU decided to withdraw from the contest. Furthermore the country's broadcaster has been faced with heavy financial problems after hosting the contest which also played a role in Uslye's withdrawal.
 * - After initially confirming participation, Zvorrhybnnia announced its withdrawal on 28 September, citing a lack of funding from the national broadcaster, ZVRT, and added that they intend to focus on a re-entry to the contest at a later date.

MBU non-members

 * - The partially recognised micro-state of Mischen originally announced it's debut in the Maia Song Contest, however they were neither an active nor associate member of the MBU, and therefore could not participate in the contest. It was rumoured that Zycantian-born Taylor Swift would have participated for the nation.
 * - On 4 October 2016, Shaniqua Diva Fantasy Network (SDFN) announced that they had applied for MBU membership, a prerequisite for the contest. However it was once again rejected as the country is not recognised as an independent state. Later that same day, SDFN and ZBC executive Shaniqua "Shaniqua Diva" Stevic announced that she had internally selected Delta Goodrem to represent Zycantia. It is rumoured that the decision came as a result of Shaniqua Diva's anger at the repeated denial of Viridian MBU membership. Shaniqua Diva later confirmed that the hugely popular One Woman Show would air on the SDFN instead of the Maia Song Contest 4, following the show's success in the previous edition.